SAN JOSE — Fire from an outdoor barbecue jumped to a West San Jose apartment and through the attic spread to a neighboring unit, displacing at least three people Thursday afternoon, according to the San Jose Fire Department.

The one-alarm blaze was reported at 1:23 p.m. at a small cluster of apartments on Brooklyn Avenue off West San Carlos Street near Bascom Avenue, Fire Capt. Cleo Doss said. A squad of 25 firefighters extinguished the fire in about half an hour.

Three residents and a dog living in the two units damaged by the fire escaped safely and were not allowed to return home. A third unit was rendered uninhabitable not because of fire damage but because power had to be cut off from the fire-damaged apartments.

Firefighters and residents also rescued two dachshunds that were living in the third unit whose resident was not home at the time of the fire. One firefighter suffered a minor injury and was treated by his colleagues, Doss said.

Robert Salonga covers crime and public safety for the Bay Area News Group and is based at The Mercury News. A San Jose native, he has a bachelor's degree from UCLA and a Master's degree in journalism from the University of Maryland-College Park, but remains a Bruin at heart. His prior reporting stops include Washington, D.C. and Salinas. He is also a middling triathlete whose sole race goal is to be upright at the end. Contact Robert at 408-920-5002.

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